Providing a custom virtual appliance

ABSTRACT

A method, system and/or computer program product provides a custom virtual appliance. A description file of a custom virtual appliance is generated based on a user requirement. A configuration metadata of the custom virtual appliance is acquired from the description file. A list of candidate virtual appliances is created based on the configuration metadata by using conversion information, wherein the candidate virtual appliances in the list are capable of converting to a configuration that corresponds to the configuration metadata.

BACKGROUND

The present invention relates to virtual appliances. More specifically,the present invention relates to a method and device for providing acustom virtual appliance.

With the development of virtualization technology, a virtual machine iscapable of providing various applications and services just like a realand standalone computer. On this basis, one or more virtual machines maybe packaged together to provide a pre-constructed software environment,thereby forming a virtual appliance. For example, in one example, threevirtual machines VM1, VM2 and VM3 may be utilized to construct a virtualappliance, wherein the three virtual machines being installed thereondifferent software programs respectively, so as to execute differentfunctions respectively. For example, virtual machine VM1 may be used toexecute various applications, VM2 may be used to provide a database, andVM3 may function as a proxy server. These “dedicated” virtual machinesare packaged together to jointly provide a complete running environment,thereby forming a virtual appliance. In such a case, the plurality ofvirtual machines forming the virtual appliance is taken as a whole, sothat they are maintained, updated and managed together.

In order to form a required virtual appliance, a variety ofspecifications and approaches for packaging virtual machines are setforth in prior art. Nowadays, OVF (Open Virtualization Format) is acommonly used specification for packaging and distributing virtualappliance. With OVF specification, virtual appliances may be installedand deployed across platforms in a simple and flexible manner. Accordingto OVF specification, multiple virtual machines are packaged into oneOVF package. Typically, an OVF package contains an OVF description filewith suffix .ovf and optionally contains a manifest file with suffix .mfand a certificate file with suffix .cert. The OVF description file isused to describe configuration information of various virtual machinescontained in that OVF package. Additionally, an OVF package alsocontains disk image files of various virtual machines forming a virtualappliance. These files store data in virtual disks in form of images.

According to user's requirement on various virtual appliances, many datacenters are configured to, based on user requirement, provide user withvirtual appliance in form of OVF package, for example. In particular,under cloud computing environment, especially under Infrastructure as aService (IaaS) mode, a cloud data center may provide various virtualmachines and virtual appliances to a variety of users. Due to user'sdifferent requirements on various virtual appliances such as thedifferent virtual disk format or size, the virtualization format (e.g.VMware format, or XEN format), etc, virtual appliances built in the datacenter often cannot meet user's actual expectation. In particular, in acloud computing environment, there is variation in requirements fromdifferent users or in requirements of a same user under differentcontexts, and such variability results in that the provided limitedvirtual appliances cannot meet the requirements.

SUMMARY

A method, system and/or computer program product provides a customvirtual appliance. A description file of a custom virtual appliance isgenerated based on a user requirement. A configuration metadata of thecustom virtual appliance is acquired from the description file. A listof candidate virtual appliances is created based on the configurationmetadata by using conversion information, wherein the candidate virtualappliances in the list are capable of converting to a configuration thatcorresponds to the configuration metadata.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

Through the more detailed description of some embodiments of the presentdisclosure in the accompanying drawings, the above and other objects,features and advantages of the present disclosure will become moreapparent, wherein the same reference generally refers to the samecomponents in the embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 1 depicts a cloud computing node according to an embodiment of thepresent invention.

FIG. 2 depicts a cloud computing environment according to an embodimentof the present invention.

FIG. 3 depicts abstraction model layers according to an embodiment ofthe present invention.

FIG. 4 depicts a flowchart of a method 400 for providing a customvirtual appliance according to an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 5 depicts a block diagram of a device 500 for providing a customvirtual appliance according to an embodiment of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present invention may be a system, a method, and/or a computerprogram product. The computer program product may include a computerreadable storage medium (or media) having computer readable programinstructions thereon for causing a processor to carry out aspects of thepresent invention.

The computer readable storage medium can be a tangible device that canretain and store instructions for use by an instruction executiondevice. The computer readable storage medium may be, for example, but isnot limited to, an electronic storage device, a magnetic storage device,an optical storage device, an electromagnetic storage device, asemiconductor storage device, or any suitable combination of theforegoing. A non-exhaustive list of more specific examples of thecomputer readable storage medium includes the following: a portablecomputer diskette, a hard disk, a random access memory (RAM), aread-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROMor Flash memory), a static random access memory (SRAM), a portablecompact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), a digital versatile disk (DVD),a memory stick, a floppy disk, a mechanically encoded device such aspunch-cards or raised structures in a groove having instructionsrecorded thereon, and any suitable combination of the foregoing. Acomputer readable storage medium, as used herein, is not to be construedas being transitory signals per se, such as radio waves or other freelypropagating electromagnetic waves, electromagnetic waves propagatingthrough a waveguide or other transmission media (e.g., light pulsespassing through a fiber-optic cable), or electrical signals transmittedthrough a wire.

Computer readable program instructions described herein can bedownloaded to respective computing/processing devices from a computerreadable storage medium or to an external computer or external storagedevice via a network, for example, the Internet, a local area network, awide area network and/or a wireless network. The network may comprisecopper transmission cables, optical transmission fibers, wirelesstransmission, routers, firewalls, switches, gateway computers and/oredge servers. A network adapter card or network interface in eachcomputing/processing device receives computer readable programinstructions from the network and forwards the computer readable programinstructions for storage in a computer readable storage medium withinthe respective computing/processing device.

Computer readable program instructions for carrying out operations ofthe present invention may be assembler instructions,instruction-set-architecture (ISA) instructions, machine instructions,machine dependent instructions, microcode, firmware instructions,state-setting data, or either source code or object code written in anycombination of one or more programming languages, including an objectoriented programming language such as Smalltalk, C++ or the like, andconventional procedural programming languages, such as the “C”programming language or similar programming languages. The computerreadable program instructions may execute entirely on the user'scomputer, partly on the user's computer, as a stand-alone softwarepackage, partly on the user's computer and partly on a remote computeror entirely on the remote computer or server. In the latter scenario,the remote computer may be connected to the user's computer through anytype of network, including a local area network (LAN) or a wide areanetwork (WAN), or the connection may be made to an external computer(for example, through the Internet using an Internet Service Provider).In some embodiments, electronic circuitry including, for example,programmable logic circuitry, field-programmable gate arrays (FPGA), orprogrammable logic arrays (PLA) may execute the computer readableprogram instructions by utilizing state information of the computerreadable program instructions to personalize the electronic circuitry,in order to perform aspects of the present invention.

Aspects of the present invention are described herein with reference toflowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams of methods, apparatus(systems), and computer program products according to embodiments of theinvention. It will be understood that each block of the flowchartillustrations and/or block diagrams, and combinations of blocks in theflowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, can be implemented bycomputer readable program instructions.

These computer readable program instructions may be provided to aprocessor of a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, orother programmable data processing apparatus to produce a machine, suchthat the instructions, which execute via the processor of the computeror other programmable data processing apparatus, create means forimplementing the functions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or blockdiagram block or blocks. These computer readable program instructionsmay also be stored in a computer readable storage medium that can directa computer, a programmable data processing apparatus, and/or otherdevices to function in a particular manner, such that the computerreadable storage medium having instructions stored therein comprises anarticle of manufacture including instructions which implement aspects ofthe function/act specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram blockor blocks.

The computer readable program instructions may also be loaded onto acomputer, other programmable data processing apparatus, or other deviceto cause a series of operational steps to be performed on the computer,other programmable apparatus or other device to produce a computerimplemented process, such that the instructions which execute on thecomputer, other programmable apparatus, or other device implement thefunctions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block orblocks.

The flowchart and block diagrams in the Figures illustrate thearchitecture, functionality, and operation of possible implementationsof systems, methods, and computer program products according to variousembodiments of the present invention. In this regard, each block in theflowchart or block diagrams may represent a module, segment, or portionof instructions, which comprises one or more executable instructions forimplementing the specified logical function(s). In some alternativeimplementations, the functions noted in the block may occur out of theorder noted in the figures. For example, two blocks shown in successionmay, in fact, be executed substantially concurrently, or the blocks maysometimes be executed in the reverse order, depending upon thefunctionality involved. It will also be noted that each block of theblock diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, and combinations of blocksin the block diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, can be implementedby special purpose hardware-based systems that perform the specifiedfunctions or acts or carry out combinations of special purpose hardwareand computer instructions.

Some preferable embodiments will be described in more detail withreference to the accompanying drawings, in which the preferableembodiments of the present disclosure have been illustrated. However,the present disclosure can be implemented in various manners, and thusshould not be construed to be limited to the embodiments disclosedherein. On the contrary, those embodiments are provided for the thoroughand complete understanding of the present disclosure, and completelyconveying the scope of the present disclosure to those skilled in theart.

It is understood in advance that although this disclosure includes adetailed description on cloud computing, implementation of the teachingsrecited herein are not limited to a cloud computing environment. Rather,embodiments of the present invention are capable of being implemented inconjunction with any other type of computing environment now known orlater developed.

Cloud computing is a model of service delivery for enabling convenient,on-demand network access to a shared pool of configurable computingresources (e.g. networks, network bandwidth, servers, processing,memory, storage, applications, virtual machines, and services) that canbe rapidly provisioned and released with minimal management effort orinteraction with a provider of the service. This cloud model may includeat least five characteristics, at least three service models, and atleast four deployment models.

Characteristics are as follows:

On-demand self-service: a cloud consumer can unilaterally provisioncomputing capabilities, such as server time and network storage, asneeded automatically without requiring human interaction with theservice's provider.

Broad network access: capabilities are available over a network andaccessed through standard mechanisms that promote use by heterogeneousthin or thick client platforms (e.g., mobile phones, laptops, and PDAs).

Resource pooling: the provider's computing resources are pooled to servemultiple consumers using a multi-tenant model, with different physicaland virtual resources dynamically assigned and reassigned according todemand. There is a sense of location independence in that the consumergenerally has no control or knowledge over the exact location of theprovided resources but may be able to specify location at a higher levelof abstraction (e.g., country, state, or datacenter).

Rapid elasticity: capabilities can be rapidly and elasticallyprovisioned, in some cases automatically, to quickly scale out andrapidly released to quickly scale in. To the consumer, the capabilitiesavailable for provisioning often appear to be unlimited and can bepurchased in any quantity at any time.

Measured service: cloud systems automatically control and optimizeresource use by leveraging a metering capability at some level ofabstraction appropriate to the type of service (e.g., storage,processing, bandwidth, and active user accounts). Resource usage can bemonitored, controlled, and reported providing transparency for both theprovider and consumer of the utilized service.

Service Models are as follows:

Software as a Service (SaaS): the capability provided to the consumer isto use the provider's applications running on a cloud infrastructure.The applications are accessible from various client devices through athin client interface such as a web browser (e.g., web-based e-mail).The consumer does not manage or control the underlying cloudinfrastructure including network, servers, operating systems, storage,or even individual application capabilities, with the possible exceptionof limited user-specific application configuration settings.

Platform as a Service (PaaS): the capability provided to the consumer isto deploy onto the cloud infrastructure consumer-created or acquiredapplications created using programming languages and tools supported bythe provider. The consumer does not manage or control the underlyingcloud infrastructure including networks, servers, operating systems, orstorage, but has control over the deployed applications and possiblyapplication hosting environment configurations.

Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS): the capability provided to theconsumer is to provision processing, storage, networks, and otherfundamental computing resources where the consumer is able to deploy andrun arbitrary software, which can include operating systems andapplications. The consumer does not manage or control the underlyingcloud infrastructure but has control over operating systems, storage,deployed applications, and possibly limited control of select networkingcomponents (e.g., host firewalls).

Deployment Models are as follows:

Private cloud: the cloud infrastructure is operated solely for anorganization. It may be managed by the organization or a third party andmay exist on-premises or off-premises.

Community cloud: the cloud infrastructure is shared by severalorganizations and supports a specific community that has shared concerns(e.g., mission, security requirements, policy, and complianceconsiderations). It may be managed by the organizations or a third partyand may exist on-premises or off-premises.

Public cloud: the cloud infrastructure is made available to the generalpublic or a large industry group and is owned by an organization sellingcloud services.

Hybrid cloud: the cloud infrastructure is a composition of two or moreclouds (private, community, or public) that remain unique entities butare bound together by standardized or proprietary technology thatenables data and application portability (e.g., cloud bursting forload-balancing between clouds).

A cloud computing environment is service oriented with a focus onstatelessness, low coupling, modularity, and semantic interoperability.At the heart of cloud computing is an infrastructure comprising anetwork of interconnected nodes.

Referring now to FIG. 1, a schematic of an example of a cloud computingnode is shown. Cloud computing node 10 is only one example of a suitablecloud computing node and is not intended to suggest any limitation as tothe scope of use or functionality of embodiments of the inventiondescribed herein. Regardless, cloud computing node 10 is capable ofbeing implemented and/or performing any of the functionality set forthhereinabove.

In cloud computing node 10 there is a computer system/server 12, whichis operational with numerous other general purpose or special purposecomputing system environments or configurations. Examples of well-knowncomputing systems, environments, and/or configurations that may besuitable for use with computer system/server 12 include, but are notlimited to, personal computer systems, server computer systems, thinclients, thick clients, hand-held or laptop devices, multiprocessorsystems, microprocessor-based systems, set top boxes, programmableconsumer electronics, network PCs, minicomputer systems, mainframecomputer systems, and distributed cloud computing environments thatinclude any of the above systems or devices, and the like.

Computer system/server 12 may be described in the general context ofcomputer system-executable instructions, such as program modules, beingexecuted by a computer system. Generally, program modules may includeroutines, programs, objects, components, logic, data structures, and soon that perform particular tasks or implement particular abstract datatypes. Computer system/server 12 may be practiced in distributed cloudcomputing environments where tasks are performed by remote processingdevices that are linked through a communications network. In adistributed cloud computing environment, program modules may be locatedin both local and remote computer system storage media including memorystorage devices.

As shown in FIG. 1, computer system/server 12 in cloud computing node 10is shown in the form of a general-purpose computing device. Thecomponents of computer system/server 12 may include, but are not limitedto, one or more processors or processing units 16, a system memory 28,and a bus 18 that couples various system components including systemmemory 28 to processor 16.

Bus 18 represents one or more of any of several types of bus structures,including a memory bus or memory controller, a peripheral bus, anaccelerated graphics port, and a processor or local bus using any of avariety of bus architectures. By way of example, and not limitation,such architectures include Industry Standard Architecture (ISA) bus,Micro Channel Architecture (MCA) bus, Enhanced ISA (EISA) bus, VideoElectronics Standards Association (VESA) local bus, and PeripheralComponent Interconnect (PCI) bus.

Computer system/server 12 typically includes a variety of computersystem readable media. Such media may be any available media that isaccessible by computer system/server 12, and it includes both volatileand non-volatile media, removable and non-removable media.

System memory 28 can include computer system readable media in the formof volatile memory, such as random access memory (RAM) 30 and/or cachememory 32. Computer system/server 12 may further include otherremovable/non-removable, volatile/non-volatile computer system storagemedia. By way of example only, storage system 34 can be provided forreading from and writing to a non-removable, non-volatile magnetic media(not shown and typically called a “hard drive”). Although not shown, amagnetic disk drive for reading from and writing to a removable,non-volatile magnetic disk (e.g., a “floppy disk”), and an optical diskdrive for reading from or writing to a removable, non-volatile opticaldisk such as a CD-ROM, DVD-ROM or other optical media can be provided.In such instances, each can be connected to bus 18 by one or more datamedia interfaces. As will be further depicted and described below,memory 28 may include at least one program product having a set (e.g.,at least one) of program modules that are configured to carry out thefunctions of embodiments of the invention.

Program/utility 40, having a set (at least one) of program modules 42,may be stored in memory 28 by way of example, and not limitation, aswell as an operating system, one or more application programs, otherprogram modules, and program data. Each of the operating system, one ormore application programs, other program modules, and program data orsome combination thereof, may include an implementation of a networkingenvironment. Program modules 42 generally carry out the functions and/ormethodologies of embodiments of the invention as described herein.

Computer system/server 12 may also communicate with one or more externaldevices 14 such as a keyboard, a pointing device, a display 24, etc.;one or more devices that enable a user to interact with computersystem/server 12; and/or any devices (e.g., network card, modem, etc.)that enable computer system/server 12 to communicate with one or moreother computing devices. Such communication can occur via Input/Output(I/O) interfaces 22. Still yet, computer system/server 12 cancommunicate with one or more networks such as a local area network(LAN), a general wide area network (WAN), and/or a public network (e.g.,the Internet) via network adapter 20. As depicted, network adapter 20communicates with the other components of computer system/server 12 viabus 18. It should be understood that although not shown, other hardwareand/or software components could be used in conjunction with computersystem/server 12. Examples, include, but are not limited to: microcode,device drivers, redundant processing units, external disk drive arrays,RAID systems, tape drives, and data archival storage systems, etc.

Referring now to FIG. 2, illustrative cloud computing environment 50 isdepicted. As shown, cloud computing environment 50 comprises one or morecloud computing nodes 10 with which local computing devices used bycloud consumers, such as, for example, personal digital assistant (PDA)or cellular telephone 54A, desktop computer 54B, laptop computer 54C,and/or automobile computer system 54N may communicate. Nodes 10 maycommunicate with one another. They may be grouped (not shown) physicallyor virtually, in one or more networks, such as Private, Community,Public, or Hybrid clouds as described hereinabove, or a combinationthereof. This allows cloud computing environment 50 to offerinfrastructure, platforms and/or software as services for which a cloudconsumer does not need to maintain resources on a local computingdevice. It is understood that the types of computing devices MA-N shownin FIG. 2 are intended to be illustrative only and that computing nodes10 and cloud computing environment 50 can communicate with any type ofcomputerized device over any type of network and/or network addressableconnection (e.g., using a web browser).

Referring now to FIG. 3, a set of functional abstraction layers providedby cloud computing environment 50 (FIG. 2) is shown. It should beunderstood in advance that the components, layers, and functions shownin FIG. 3 are intended to be illustrative only and embodiments of theinvention are not limited thereto. As depicted, the following layers andcorresponding functions are provided:

Hardware and software layer 60 includes hardware and softwarecomponents. Examples of hardware components include mainframes, in oneexample IBM® zSeries® systems; RISC (Reduced Instruction Set Computer)architecture based servers, in one example IBM pSeries® systems; IBMxSeries® systems; IBM BladeCenter® systems; storage devices; networksand networking components. Examples of software components includenetwork application server software, in one example IBM WebSphere®application server software; and database software, in one example IBMDB2® database software. (IBM, zSeries, pSeries, xSeries, BladeCenter,WebSphere, and DB2 are trademarks of International Business MachinesCorporation registered in many jurisdictions worldwide).

Virtualization layer 62 provides an abstraction layer from which thefollowing examples of virtual entities may be provided: virtual servers;virtual storage; virtual networks, including virtual private networks;virtual applications and operating systems; and virtual clients.

In one example, management layer 64 may provide the functions describedbelow. Resource provisioning provides dynamic procurement of computingresources and other resources that are utilized to perform tasks withinthe cloud computing environment. Metering and Pricing provide costtracking as resources are utilized within the cloud computingenvironment, and billing or invoicing for consumption of theseresources. In one example, these resources may comprise applicationsoftware licenses. Security provides identity verification for cloudconsumers and tasks, as well as protection for data and other resources.User portal provides access to the cloud computing environment forconsumers and system administrators. Service level management providescloud computing resource allocation and management such that requiredservice levels are met. Service Level Agreement (SLA) planning andfulfillment provide pre-arrangement for, and procurement of, cloudcomputing resources for which a future requirement is anticipated inaccordance with an SLA.

Workloads layer 66 provides examples of functionality for which thecloud computing environment may be utilized. Examples of workloads andfunctions which may be provided from this layer include: mapping andnavigation; software development and lifecycle management; virtualclassroom education delivery; data analytics processing; transactionprocessing; and complex objects management based on embodiment of theinvention.

Detailed implementation manner of embodiments of the invention will bedescribed below. FIG. 4 depicts a flowchart of a method 400 forproviding a custom virtual appliance according to an embodiment of theinvention. As shown in FIG. 4, the method 400 for providing a customvirtual appliance starts with step 402, comprising: step 404, generatinga description file of the custom virtual appliance based on userrequirement; step 406, acquiring configuration metadata of the customvirtual appliance from the description file; step 408, creating a listof candidate virtual appliances based on the configuration metadata byusing conversion information, wherein a candidate virtual appliance inthe list is capable of obtaining a configuration corresponding to theconfiguration metadata through conversion. The performance of each stepabove will be described below in conjunction with specific examples.

First, in step 404, generating a description file of the custom virtualappliance based on user requirement. Assuming that user requirement(i.e. a custom virtual appliance required by user) is: disk format ofthe virtual appliance is XEN VHD, the virtual appliance carries thereonNovell SUSE Linux Enterprise Server operating system whose version is11, the operating system carries thereon IBM WebSphere ApplicationServer application software whose version is 7.0 andWASProfile(Standalone) instances. According to the method of theembodiment of the invention, the following description file of thecustom virtual appliance is generated according to the above userrequirement.

  <ovf:File ovf:format=″*.vhd″ ovf:size=″10240″/> . . .<ovf:ProductSection ovf:class=″License″ ovf:instance=″1″>   <ovf:Infoovf:msgid=″License.label″>Licence Acceptance</ovf:Info>  <ovf:Product>Novell SUSE Linux Enterprise Server</ovf:Product>  <ovf:Version>11</ovf:Version>   <ovf:Property ovf:key=″accept″ovf:type=″string″ ovf:userConfigurable=″false″ ovf:value=″yes″ovf:required=″false″>    <ovf:Labelovf:msgid=″License.accept.label″>Accept License</ovf:Label>   <ovf:Description ovf:msgid=″License.accept.description″>Yes/No thatall licences are accepted</ovf:Description>   </ovf:Property> </ovf:ProductSection> . . . <ovf:ProductSection ovf:class=″ConfigWAS″ovf:instance=″1″>   <ovf:Info ovf:msgid=″ConfigWAS.label″>WebSphereruntime configuration</ovf:Info>   <ovf:Product>IBM WebSphereApplication Server HyperVisor Edition</ovf:Product>  <ovf:Version>7.0</ovf:Version>   <ovf:Property ovf:key=″type″ovf:type=″string″ ovf:userConfigurable=″true″ovf:value=″″ovf:required=″true″>    <ovf:Labelovf:msgid=″ConfigWAS.type.label″>WASProfile(Standlone)</ovf:Label>   <ovf:Description ovf:msgid=″ConfigWAS.type.description″>This is thetype of profile created on this image</ovf:Description>  </ovf:Property>   . . . </ovf:ProductSection>

The above description file describes therein such a custom virtualappliance:

Disk format is XEN VHD, size is 10G; operating system is Novell SUSELinux Enterprise Server Ver. 11; the carried application software is IBMWebSphere Application Server Ver. 7.0 and WASProfile(Standalone)instances. That is, the above description file corresponds to userrequirement. It should be appreciated that, the above example is merelyfor illustration, and should not be construed as limit the protectionscope of the invention.

Then, in step 406, acquiring configuration metadata of the customvirtual appliance from the description file. The configuration metadatacorresponds to configuration information of the custom virtualappliance, and content of the configuration metadata may be acquired byextracting from the description file tags relevant to the configurationmetadata, such as Product (product information) tag, Version (version)tag etc. Still taking the above example, configuration metadata of thecustom virtual appliance is:

  <ovf:File ovf:format=″*.vhd″ovf:size=″10240″/> <ovf:Product>NovellSUSE Linux Enterprise Server</ovf:Product> <ovf:Version>11</ovf:Version> <ovf:Product>IBM WebSphere ApplicationServer HyperVisor Edition</ovf:Product>  <ovf:Version>7.0</ovf:Version><ovf:Labelovf:msgid=″ConfigWAS.type.label″>WASProfile(Standlone)</ovfLabel>

Then, in step 408, creating a list of candidate virtual appliances basedon the configuration metadata by using conversion information, whereinthe list contains the virtual appliance capable of obtaining aconfiguration corresponding to the configuration metadata throughconversion. First, conversion information is read, and the conversioninformation describes which configurations of a virtual appliance may beacquired through conversion. The conversion information mayillustratively include at least one of: software customizationconversion information describing which software customizations may beacquired through conversion and how to acquire through conversion in anidentical software environment; disk format conversion informationdescribing which disk formats may be acquired through conversion and howto acquire through conversion; and disk size conversion informationdescribing how to acquire required disk size through conversion. Anexample of conversion information is illustratively given below.

   <softwares>   <software>    <from>BPMProfile(Stanndalone)</from>   <to>WASProfile(Stanndalone)</to>   <convertCommand>removeBPMStandaloneProfile.sh</convertCommand>   <convertCommand>createWASStandaloneProfile.sh</convertCommand>  </software>   <software>    <from>BPMProfile(Stanndalone)</from>   <to>WASProfile(deploymentmanager)</to>   <convertCommand>removeBPMStandaloneProfile.sh</convertCommand>  <convertCommand>createWASDeploymentManagerProfile.sh</convertCommand>  </software>   <software>    <from>BPMProfile(deploymentmanager)</from>   <to>WASProfile(Stanndalone)</to>  <convertCommand>removeBPMDeploymentManagerProfile.sh</convertCommand>   <convertCommand>createWASStandaloneProfile.sh</convertCommand>  </software>  </softwares>  . . .  <vdformats>   <vdformat>   <from>VMware VMDK</from>    <to>XEN VHD</to>   <convertCommand>vmdk2vhd.sh</convertCommand>   </vdformat>  <vdformat>    <from>XEN VHD</from>    <to>VMware VMDK</to>   <convertCommand>vhd2vmdk.sh</convertCommand>   </vdformat>  <vdformat>    <from>VMware VMDK</from>    <to>KVM QCOW2</to>   <convertCommand>vmdk2qcow2.sh</convertCommand>   </vdformat> </vdformats>  . . .  <vdsizes>   < convertRatio >    <max>30%</max>   <media>OS</ media >   </ convertRatio >   < convertRatio >   <max>50%</max>    <media>software</ media >   </ convertRatio > </vdsizes >By reading the conversion information given above, it can be learnedthat:

1) A BPMProfile(Standalone) instance may be converted into aWASProfile(Standalone) instance by executing commandsremoveBPMStandaloneProfile.sh and CreateWASStandaloneProfile.sh underidentical software environment.

2) Disk with format VMWare VMDK may be converted into disk with formatXEN VHD by executing a command vmdk2vhd.sh.

3) For operating system, the maximum compression ratio of a disk shouldnot exceed 30%; for application software, the maximum compression ratioof a disk should not exceed 50%.

It should be appreciated that, the conversion information given above ismerely for illustration, and should not be construed as limit theprotection scope of the invention, and the conversion information is notlimited to the above content and form.

Then, a list of candidate virtual appliances is created based on theconversion information and the configuration metadata, specifically,corresponding to different conversion information, different operationsare performed to create the list of candidate virtual appliances.

If the conversion information is software customization conversioninformation, then software customization of the custom virtual applianceis acquired based on configuration metadata of the custom virtualappliance; for a certain virtual appliance: software customization ofthat virtual appliance is acquired; it is determined, based on thesoftware customization conversion information, whether that virtualappliance may be made to have software customization of the customvirtual appliance by performing software customization conversion onthat virtual appliance; if yes, that virtual appliance is placed intothe list as candidate virtual appliance and required conversion isrecorded.

Taking the custom virtual appliance given above for example, first,software customization of the custom virtual appliance is acquired basedon configuration metadata of the custom virtual appliance, i.e., IBM®WebSphere Application Server and WASProfile(Standalone) carried on LinuxSUSE Enterprise Server operating system. Then, for a certain availablevirtual appliance, software customization of that virtual appliance isacquired, assuming that the acquired software customization of thatvirtual appliance is IBM WebSphere Application Server andWASProfile(Standalone) carried on Linux SUSE Enterprise Server operatingsystem. Then, it is determined, based on the software customizationconversion information, whether that virtual appliance may be made tohave software customization of the custom virtual appliance byperforming software customization conversion on that virtual appliance.Based on the software customization conversion information given above,the determination result is yes, thus that virtual appliance is placedinto the list as candidate virtual appliance and meanwhile, requiredconversion is recorded, i.e., conversion information described in theconversion information:

A BPMProfile(Standalone) instance is converted into aWASProfile(Standalone) instance by executing the following commands:

removeBPMStandaloneProfile.sh and CreateWASStandaloneProfile.sh.

If the conversion information is disk format conversion information,then disk format of the custom virtual appliance is acquired based onconfiguration metadata of the custom virtual appliance; for a certainvirtual appliance in the list: disk format of that virtual appliance isacquired; it is determined, based on the disk format conversioninformation, whether that virtual appliance may be made to have diskformat of the custom virtual appliance by performing disk formatconversion on that virtual appliance; if yes, that virtual appliance isretained in the list as candidate virtual appliance and requiredconversion is recorded; if no, that virtual appliance is removed fromthe list.

Taking the custom virtual appliance given above for example, first, diskformat of the custom virtual appliance is acquired based onconfiguration metadata of the custom virtual appliance, i.e., XEN VHD.Then, for a certain virtual appliance in the list, disk format of thatvirtual appliance is acquired, assuming that the acquired disk format ofthat virtual appliance is VMWare VMDK. Then, it is determined, based onthe disk format conversion information, whether that virtual appliancemay be made to have disk format of the custom virtual appliance byperforming disk format conversion on that virtual appliance. Based onthe disk format conversion information given above, the determinationresult is yes, thus that virtual appliance is retained in the list ascandidate virtual appliance and meanwhile, required conversion isrecorded, i.e., conversion information described in the conversioninformation:

Disk with format VMWare VMDK is converted into disk with format XEN VHDby executing the following command:

vmdk2vhd.sh.

If the conversion information is disk size conversion information, thendisk size of the custom virtual appliance is acquired based onconfiguration metadata of the custom virtual appliance; for a certainvirtual appliance in the list: disk size of that virtual appliance isacquired; it is determined, based on the disk format conversioninformation, whether that virtual appliance may be made to have disksize of the custom virtual appliance by performing disk size conversionon that virtual appliance; if yes, that virtual appliance is retained inthe list as candidate virtual appliance and required conversion isrecorded; if no, that virtual appliance is removed from the list.

Taking the custom virtual appliance given above for example, first, disksize of the custom virtual appliance is acquired based on configurationmetadata of the custom virtual appliance, i.e., 10G. Then, for a certainvirtual appliance in the list, disk size of that virtual appliance isacquired. Then, it is determined, based on the disk size conversioninformation, whether that virtual appliance may be made to have disksize of the custom virtual appliance by performing disk size conversionon that virtual appliance. Assuming according to the disk sizeconversion information given above, the determination result is yes,then that virtual appliance is retained in the list as candidate virtualappliance and meanwhile, required conversion is recorded. Assumingaccording to the disk size conversion information given above, thedetermination result is no, then that virtual appliance is removed fromthe list.

It should be appreciated that, the above description is merely forillustration, those skilled in the art can make changes thereon whichstill fall into the concept of the invention. For example, the order ofperforming determination based on conversion information may be changed,for example, first, for a certain available virtual appliance, diskformat and/or disk size of that virtual appliance is acquired; it isdetermined, based on disk format conversion information and/or disk sizeconversion information, whether that virtual appliance may be made tohave disk format and/or disk size of the custom virtual appliance byperforming disk format conversion and/or disk size conversion on thatvirtual appliance; if yes, that virtual appliance is placed in the listas candidate virtual appliance and required conversion is recorded.Then, for a certain virtual appliance in the list, softwarecustomization of that virtual appliance is acquired; it is determined,based on software customization conversion information, whether thatvirtual appliance may be made to have software customization of thecustom virtual appliance by performing software customization conversionon that virtual appliance; if yes, that virtual appliance is retained inthe list as candidate virtual appliance and required conversion isrecorded; if no, that virtual appliance is removed from the list.

According to another embodiment of the invention, the method forproviding a custom virtual appliance may further comprise: step 410,providing the list of candidate virtual appliances, such that a user iscapable of downloading and constructing the custom virtual appliance viathe candidate virtual appliance in the list. As mentioned above, acandidate virtual appliance in the list is capable of acquiringconfiguration corresponding to the configuration metadata throughconversion. Thus, by reading candidate virtual appliances recorded inthe list and the required conversion thereof, a user is capable ofperforming required conversion and downloading of the candidate virtualappliance to construct a custom virtual appliance.

FIG. 5 depicts a block diagram of a device 500 for providing a customvirtual appliance according to an embodiment of the invention. As shownin FIG. 5, the device 500 for providing a custom virtual appliancecomprising: a generating unit 502 configured to generate a descriptionfile of the custom virtual appliance based on user requirement; anacquiring unit 504 configured to acquire configuration metadata of thecustom virtual appliance from the description file; a creating unit 506configured to create a list of candidate virtual appliances based on theconfiguration metadata by using conversion information, wherein acandidate virtual appliance in the list is capable of obtaining aconfiguration corresponding to the configuration metadata throughconversion.

According to an embodiment of the invention, the conversion informationcomprises at least one of: software customization conversion informationdescribing which software customizations may be acquired throughconversion and how to acquire through conversion in an identicalsoftware environment; disk format conversion information describingwhich disk formats may be acquired through conversion and how to acquirethrough conversion; and disk size conversion information describing howto acquire required disk size through conversion.

According to an embodiment of the invention, the conversion informationcomprises software customization conversion information, the creatingunit 506 is further configured to: acquire software customization of thecustom virtual appliance based on configuration metadata of the customvirtual appliance; for a certain available virtual appliance: acquiresoftware customization of that virtual appliance; determine, based onthe software customization conversion information, whether that virtualappliance may be made to have software customization of the customvirtual appliance by performing software customization conversion onthat virtual appliance; place a virtual appliance whose determinationresult is yes into the list as candidate virtual appliance and recordrequired conversion.

According to another embodiment of the invention, the conversioninformation further comprises disk format conversion information, thecreating unit 506 is further configured to: acquire disk format of thecustom virtual appliance based on configuration metadata of the customvirtual appliance; for a certain virtual appliance in the list: acquiredisk format of that virtual appliance; determine, based on the diskformat conversion information, whether that virtual appliance may bemade to have disk format of the custom virtual appliance by performingdisk format conversion on that virtual appliance; if yes, retain thatvirtual appliance in the list as candidate virtual appliance and recordrequired conversion; if no, remove that virtual appliance from the list.

According to another embodiment of the invention, the conversioninformation further comprises disk size conversion information, thecreating unit 506 is further configured to: acquire disk size of thecustom virtual appliance based on configuration metadata of the customvirtual appliance; for a certain virtual appliance in the list: acquiredisk size of that virtual appliance; determine, based on the disk sizeconversion information, whether that virtual appliance may be made tohave disk size of the custom virtual appliance by performing disk sizeconversion on that virtual appliance; if yes, retain that virtualappliance in the list as candidate virtual appliance and record requiredconversion; if no, remove that virtual appliance from the list.

According to another embodiment of the invention, the device 500 forproviding a custom virtual appliance further comprising: a providingunit 508 configured to provide the list such that a user is capable ofdownloading and constructing the custom virtual appliance via thecandidate virtual appliance in the list. Since a candidate virtualappliance in the list is capable of obtaining configurationcorresponding to the configuration metadata through conversion,therefore, by reading candidate virtual appliances recorded in the listand the required conversion thereof, a user is capable of performingrequired conversion and downloading of the candidate virtual applianceto construct a custom virtual appliance.

The descriptions of the various embodiments of the present inventionhave been presented for purposes of illustration, but are not intendedto be exhaustive or limited to the embodiments disclosed. Manymodifications and variations will be apparent to those of ordinary skillin the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the describedembodiments. The terminology used herein was chosen to best explain theprinciples of the embodiments, the practical application or technicalimprovement over technologies found in the marketplace, or to enableothers of ordinary skill in the art to understand the embodimentsdisclosed herein.

Thus, it is desired to improve existing solutions to be able to providea custom virtual appliance.

Illustrative embodiments of the invention provide a method for providinga custom virtual appliance, comprising: generating a description file ofthe custom virtual appliance based on user requirement; acquiringconfiguration metadata of the custom virtual appliance from thedescription file; creating a list of candidate virtual appliances basedon the configuration metadata by using conversion information, wherein acandidate virtual appliance in the list is capable of obtaining aconfiguration corresponding to the configuration metadata throughconversion.

Illustrative embodiments of the invention also provide a device forproviding a custom virtual appliance, comprising: a generating unitconfigured to generate a description file of the custom virtualappliance based on user requirement; an acquiring unit configured toacquire configuration metadata of the custom virtual appliance from thedescription file; a creating unit configured to create a list ofcandidate virtual appliances based on the configuration metadata byusing conversion information, wherein a candidate virtual appliance inthe list is capable of obtaining a configuration corresponding to theconfiguration metadata through conversion.

With the method and device of the illustrative embodiments, a customvirtual appliance may be provided by using virtual appliances providedin a data center based on user requirement, so as to better meetrequirements of different users.

The invention relates to virtual appliances, and discloses a method andsystem for providing a custom virtual appliance, the method comprising:generating a description file of the custom virtual appliance based onuser requirement; acquiring configuration metadata of the custom virtualappliance from the description file; creating a list of candidatevirtual appliances based on the configuration metadata by usingconversion information, wherein a candidate virtual appliance in thelist is capable of obtaining a configuration corresponding to theconfiguration metadata through conversion. With the method of theinvention, user is enabled to customize a virtual appliance.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for providing a custom virtualappliance, the method comprising: generating, by one or more processors,a description file of a custom virtual appliance based on a userrequirement; acquiring, by one or more processors, configurationmetadata of the custom virtual appliance from the description file; andcreating, by one or more processors, a list of candidate virtualappliances based on the configuration metadata by using conversioninformation, wherein the candidate virtual appliances in the list arecapable of converting to a configuration that corresponds to theconfiguration metadata.
 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein theconversion information comprises at least one of software customizationconversion information, disk format conversion information, and disksize conversion information.
 3. The method according to claim 1, whereinthe conversion information comprises software customization conversioninformation, and wherein the method further comprises: acquiring, by oneor more processors, a software customization of the custom virtualappliance based on configuration metadata of the custom virtualappliance; and for a specific available virtual appliance: acquiring, byone or more processors, customization software for the specificavailable virtual appliance; determining, by one or more processors andbased on conversion information for the customization software, whetherthe specific available virtual appliance is required to be customizedusing the customization software; in response to determining that thespecific available virtual appliance is required to be customized usingthe customization software, placing, by one or more processors, thespecific available virtual appliance into the list as a candidateconverted virtual appliance; and recording a required conversion processfor converting the specific available virtual appliance into the customvirtual appliance.
 4. The method according to claim 1, wherein theconversion information further comprises disk format conversioninformation, and wherein the method further comprises: acquiring, by oneor more processors, a disk format of the custom virtual appliance basedon configuration metadata of the custom virtual appliance; and for aspecific virtual appliance in the list: acquiring, by one or moreprocessors, a disk format of the specific virtual appliance;determining, by one or more processors, based on the disk formatconversion information, whether the specific virtual appliance isrequired to convert a virtual disk on the specific virtual applianceusing the disk format conversion information; in response to determiningthat the specific virtual appliance is required to convert the virtualdisk on the specific virtual appliance using the disk format conversioninformation, retaining, by one or more processors, the specific virtualappliance in the list as a candidate virtual appliance; and recording,by one or more processors, a required conversion process for convertingthe virtual disk to a converted virtual disk.
 5. The method according toclaim 1, wherein the conversion information further comprises diskformat conversion information, and wherein the method further comprises:acquiring, by one or more processors, a disk format of the customvirtual appliance based on configuration metadata of the custom virtualappliance; and for a specific virtual appliance in the list: acquiring,by one or more processors, a disk format of the specific virtualappliance; determining, by one or more processors, based on the diskformat conversion information, whether the specific virtual appliance isrequired to convert a virtual disk on the specific virtual applianceusing the disk format conversion information; and in response todetermining that the specific virtual appliance is not required toconvert the virtual disk on the specific virtual appliance using thedisk format conversion information, removing, by one or more processors,the specific virtual appliance from the list.
 6. The method according toclaim 1, wherein the conversion information further comprises disk sizeconversion information, and wherein the method further comprises:acquiring, by one or more processors, a disk size of the custom virtualappliance based on configuration metadata of the custom virtualappliance; and for a specific virtual appliance in the list: acquiring,by one or more processors, a disk size of the specific virtualappliance; determining, by one or more processors and based on the disksize conversion information, whether the specific virtual appliance isrequired to convert a disk size of the custom virtual appliance byperforming a disk size conversion on the specific virtual appliance; inresponse to determining that the specific virtual appliance is requiredto convert a disk size of the custom virtual appliance by performing adisk size conversion on the specific virtual appliance, retaining, byone or more processors, the specific virtual appliance in the list as acandidate virtual appliance; and recording, by one or more processors, arequired conversion process for converting a virtual disk to a convertedvirtual disk.
 7. The method according to claim 1, wherein the conversioninformation further comprises disk size conversion information, andwherein the method further comprises: acquiring, by one or moreprocessors, a disk size of the custom virtual appliance based onconfiguration metadata of the custom virtual appliance; and for aspecific virtual appliance in the list: acquiring, by one or moreprocessors, a disk size of the specific virtual appliance; determining,by one or more processors and based on the disk size conversioninformation, whether the specific virtual appliance is required toconvert a disk size of the custom virtual appliance by performing a disksize conversion on the specific virtual appliance; in response todetermining that the specific virtual appliance is not required toconvert a disk size of the custom virtual appliance by performing a disksize conversion on the specific virtual appliance, removing, by one ormore processors, the specific virtual appliance from the list.
 8. Themethod according to claim 1, further comprising: providing, by one ormore processors, the list to a user, wherein the list enables the userto download and construct the custom virtual appliance via a candidatevirtual appliance in the list.
 9. A computer program product forproviding a custom virtual appliance, the computer program productcomprising a computer readable storage medium having program codeembodied therewith, wherein the computer readable storage medium is nota transitory signal per se, and wherein the program code is readable andexecutable by a processor to perform a method comprising: generating adescription file of a custom virtual appliance based on a userrequirement; acquiring configuration metadata of the custom virtualappliance from the description file; and creating a list of candidatevirtual appliances based on the configuration metadata by usingconversion information, wherein the candidate virtual appliances in thelist are capable of converting to a configuration that corresponds tothe configuration metadata.
 10. The computer program product of claim 9,wherein the conversion information comprises at least one of softwarecustomization conversion information, disk format conversioninformation, and disk size conversion information.
 11. The computerprogram product of claim 9, wherein the conversion information comprisessoftware customization conversion information, and wherein the methodfurther comprises: acquiring a software customization of the customvirtual appliance based on configuration metadata of the custom virtualappliance; and for a specific available virtual appliance: acquiringcustomization software for the specific available virtual appliance;determining, based on conversion information for the customizationsoftware, whether the specific available virtual appliance is requiredto be customized using the customization software; in response todetermining that the specific available virtual appliance is required tobe customized using the customization software, placing the specificavailable virtual appliance into the list as a candidate convertedvirtual appliance; and recording a required conversion process forconverting the specific available virtual appliance into the customvirtual appliance.
 12. The computer program product of claim 9, whereinthe conversion information further comprises disk format conversioninformation, and wherein the method further comprises: acquiring a diskformat of the custom virtual appliance based on configuration metadataof the custom virtual appliance; and for a specific virtual appliance inthe list: acquiring a disk format of the specific virtual appliance;determining based on the disk format conversion information, whether thespecific virtual appliance is required to convert a virtual disk on thespecific virtual appliance using the disk format conversion information;in response to determining that the specific virtual appliance isrequired to convert the virtual disk on the specific virtual applianceusing the disk format conversion information, retaining the specificvirtual appliance in the list as a candidate virtual appliance; andrecording a required conversion process for converting the virtual diskto a converted virtual disk.
 13. The computer program product of claim9, wherein the conversion information further comprises disk formatconversion information, and wherein the method further comprises:acquiring a disk format of the custom virtual appliance based onconfiguration metadata of the custom virtual appliance; and for aspecific virtual appliance in the list: acquiring a disk format of thespecific virtual appliance; determining based on the disk formatconversion information, whether the specific virtual appliance isrequired to convert a virtual disk on the specific virtual applianceusing the disk format conversion information; and in response todetermining that the specific virtual appliance is not required toconvert the virtual disk on the specific virtual appliance using thedisk format conversion information, removing the specific virtualappliance from the list.
 14. The computer program product of claim 9,wherein the conversion information further comprises disk sizeconversion information, and wherein the method further comprises:acquiring a disk size of the custom virtual appliance based onconfiguration metadata of the custom virtual appliance; and for aspecific virtual appliance in the list: acquiring a disk size of thespecific virtual appliance; determining, based on the disk sizeconversion information, whether the specific virtual appliance isrequired to convert a disk size of the custom virtual appliance byperforming a disk size conversion on the specific virtual appliance; inresponse to determining that the specific virtual appliance is requiredto convert a disk size of the custom virtual appliance by performing adisk size conversion on the specific virtual appliance, retaining thespecific virtual appliance in the list as a candidate virtual appliance;and recording a required conversion process for converting a virtualdisk to a converted virtual disk.
 15. The computer program product ofclaim 9, wherein the conversion information further comprises disk sizeconversion information, and wherein the method further comprises:acquiring a disk size of the custom virtual appliance based onconfiguration metadata of the custom virtual appliance; and for aspecific virtual appliance in the list: acquiring a disk size of thespecific virtual appliance; determining, based on the disk sizeconversion information, whether the specific virtual appliance isrequired to convert a disk size of the custom virtual appliance byperforming a disk size conversion on the specific virtual appliance; inresponse to determining that the specific virtual appliance is notrequired to convert a disk size of the custom virtual appliance byperforming a disk size conversion on the specific virtual appliance,removing the specific virtual appliance from the list.
 16. The computerprogram product of claim 9, further comprising: providing the list to auser, wherein the list enables the user to download and construct thecustom virtual appliance via a candidate virtual appliance in the list.17. A computer system comprising: a hardware processor, a computerreadable memory, and a computer readable storage medium; first programinstructions to generate, a description file of a custom virtualappliance based on a user requirement; second program instructions toacquire, configuration metadata of the custom virtual appliance from thedescription file; and third program instructions to create a list ofcandidate virtual appliances based on the configuration metadata byusing conversion information, wherein the candidate virtual appliancesin the list are capable of converting to a configuration thatcorresponds to the configuration metadata; and wherein the first,second, and third, program instructions are stored on the computerreadable storage medium and executed by the processor via the computerreadable memory.
 18. The computer system of claim 17, wherein theconversion information comprises at least one of software customizationconversion information, disk format conversion information, and disksize conversion information.
 19. The computer system of claim 17,wherein the conversion information comprises software customizationconversion information, and wherein the computer system furthercomprises: fourth program instructions to acquire, a softwarecustomization of the custom virtual appliance based on configurationmetadata of the custom virtual appliance and for a specific availablevirtual appliance; acquiring customization software for the specificavailable virtual appliance; determining based on conversion informationfor the customization software, whether the specific available virtualappliance is required to be customized using the customization software;in response to determining that the specific available virtual applianceis required to be customized using the customization software, place thespecific available virtual appliance into the list as a candidateconverted virtual appliance; recording a required conversion process forconverting the specific available virtual appliance into the customvirtual appliance; and wherein the fourth program instructions arestored on the computer readable storage medium and executed by theprocessor via the computer readable memory.
 20. The computer system ofclaim 17, wherein the conversion information comprises disk formatconversion information, and wherein the computer system furthercomprises: fourth program instructions to acquire, a disk format of thecustom virtual appliance based on configuration metadata of the customvirtual appliance; and for a specific virtual appliance in the list:acquiring, a disk format of the specific virtual appliance; determining,based on the disk format conversion information, whether the specificvirtual appliance is required to convert a virtual disk on the specificvirtual appliance using the disk format conversion information; inresponse to determining that the specific virtual appliance is requiredto convert the virtual disk on the specific virtual appliance using thedisk format conversion information, retaining the specific virtualappliance in the list as a candidate virtual appliance; recording, arequired conversion process for converting the virtual disk to aconverted virtual disk; and wherein the fourth program instructions arestored on the computer readable storage medium and executed by theprocessor via the computer readable memory.